COLORADO, USA — The scenery of Colorado's Rocky Mountains makes moments in this state easy to remember — and part of those postcard views is the wildlife that a 2024 ballot measure seeks to protect.
“I fell in love with it the first time I saw it — we call them real mountains,” said Samantha Miller, as she walked down East Inlet trail in Rocky Mountain National Park in Grand Lake.
“Wild animals are my favorite thing,” she said. “I love that we have moose and bear and elk and lions.”
That last animal — the mountain lion — is something Miller has been focusing on for a while. Miller is the campaign manager for Cat’s Aren’t Trophies. And a long-time fan of the large predator.
“I was born this way,” Miller said. “When I was five years old, I was writing Santa letters to protect mountain lions.”
Now Miller is asking Colorado voters to say yes to Proposition 127, which would prohibit the hunting of mountain lions, bobcats, and lynx. According to their Sept. 30 filing with the Colorado Secretary of State, Cats Aren’t Trophies has spent about $1.9 million so far in their efforts.
Colorado’s Wildlife Deserve Better is fighting Prop 127. So far they’ve spent $500,000 fighting it.
“For me, to have lasting protections of mountain lions, bobcats, and Canada lynx, in one of the most beautiful places on earth – it’s an incredible opportunity,” Miller said.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife has allowed the hunting of lions since 1965 and estimated the current population at between 3,800 and 4,400 adult lions. CPW does not have an estimate for bobcats because of their abundance. CPW does not take a position on ballot issues, but states on their website that “Managing lions and bobcats with harvest is one management tool to maintain more stable populations.”
Washington and Oregon have banned lion hunting with dogs. California is the only state to have banned mountain lion hunting altogether. Miller said she hoped Colorado would join California come election day.
“It’s about our ethics, our values,” Miller said. “Do we think it’s still appropriate to hunt wild animals with packs of up to eight dogs, and then follow that animal to a tree and shoot it from close range?”
On CPW's bobcats, mountain lions and lynx FAQ, they state, “Lion hunting with hounds is far more selective of gender than other encounter methods employed in states that have banned hounds. Statewide annual harvest proportion of females in Colorado is generally at or under 40%, whereas in states that have banned hound hunting, it can approach 60%.” Though between Nov. 27th and Dec. 31, 2023, 44% of the lions killed were female.
This, in part, prompted the CPW commission to cancel their April 2024 season.
Earl Oesterling, owner of Ivory and Antler Outfitter in North Park, said he works with skilled houndsmen. He said it is the best way to be selective while hunting mountain lions.
“Using hounds is a valuable tool and can help you identify the sex of a cat before it’s harvested,” Oesterling said. “You can identify the age of the cat, like the middle-aged males that CPW wants us to harvest.”
Oesterling said he sees parallels between the last time Colorado voted on a wildlife issue and now. In 2020, Colorado voted to reintroduce wolves by less than 2%. Last December, CPW released 10 wolves from Oregon. Three are now dead, and one female and her pups are in captivity awaiting re-release.
“There’s a lot of misinformation,” Oesterling said. “There was a lot on the wolf side as well, and we’re starting to see that come into fruition.
The misinformation Oesterling referred to is the language being used in ads for Prop 127.
“The lion ban is really centered around a word that everyone is using right now — trophy hunting — it’s really important for everyone to understand that trophy hunting is illegal in Colorado. Everything that we hunt we have to eat,” Oesterling said. “It’s very delicious meat — it tastes a lot like beef, but is lean like pork.”
Oesterling also pointed out that people seeking a mountain lion license, are required to take a test from CPW.
Miller said that the purpose of hunting cats is solely for trophies.
“Anyone who says they eat cat meat — that’s an excuse — we don’t sell cats in our markets, we don’t sell cats at Applebee's,” Miller said.